


Healer of Lost souls

by SheProtect



Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Genre: Betrayal, Friendship/Love, Loss, Loss of Innocence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-17 19:14:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14195871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheProtect/pseuds/SheProtect
Summary: Claudette has spent her whole life in science. Her love for new discoveries and helping others got her into college early and exceeding amounts of respect from those who read her blogs. Though she is an introvert by nature, she enjoys helping others. At times even at her own expense. One night on her way back from the city while waiting one the next bus she took a stroll in the woods. Alone in the darkness she heard a bell as fog seemed to roll in from all sides. Lulled by the whispers of an unseen entity, she floated through the woods into its realm. Now trapped in a place where death meant nothing and everything, she faces these trials with strange hope, as her botany knowledge becomes the difference between life and death. A silent whisperer follows her through the fog, ever so patient to be noticed by the empathetic botanist that protects those who are in the trials with her.





	1. No one escapes death, or so they say

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm really excited to write this as this is my first fan fiction. Let me know what you think and I'll try to keep up with writing <3  
> ~SheProtect

I felt nothing short of terrified as I crept through the forest. I saw no one but yet again heard the bell, only closer. Some part of me seemed to scream danger. To run. To hide from this unseen creature. I turned and quickly dashed through the trees until I found a hollow tree surrounded by bushes, crouching into the tree I counted in my head to calm my breathing. My heart beat so loud I feared whatever was out there would hear it. Suddenly I heard the bell again, much much closer. I covered my mouth, praying that it wouldn’t hear me. Wouldn’t find me. Suddenly I heard a loud scream followed by multiple swings of a weapon. I was terrified but no longer for myself. Rather for the owner of that scream. With renewed courage I crept out from my hiding place in search of the screamer. In the distance I could see a young girl hiding behind a truck, the girl had auburn hair and pale skin; a stark contrast to my chocolate skin and deep black hair.  
‘I’ve got to help her’ I thought to myself. I snuck over to the girl and hid behind the truck with her, that’s when I noticed the blood. The girl was bleeding but I couldn’t tell from where. I gently touched her shoulder to get her attention.  
“Where are you hurt?” I mouthed, after she had turned to me.  
“My back” The girl mouthed back before turning her back to me and pulling her shirt down enough for the wound to be clearly visible. Seeing the wound, I noticed it was bruised in a strange way with lacerations in and below the bruising. I pulled out a small Med-Kit from my satchel. I then disinfected the wound and put a numbing agent on it before bandaging it. The girl nodded in gratitude and pointed at what seemed to be a generator.  
“We have to fix that” She whispered. Though I didn’t know why yet, I could see the experience in the girls’ eyes and chose to follow her.  
“What’s your name?” I asked.  
“Meg, what’s yours?” She said softly.  
“Claudette” I replied. Meg nodded and moved to the generator, showing me how to fix it. We quickly finished, the generator lighting up the junk around us. We seem to be in a wreck yard of sorts. Meg quickly ran back into the forest, myself following close behind. I stopped her and showed her the hollowed tree. It had barely enough space to fit us both but when we heard the bell we quickly crawled inside, pressed closely together. Both of us trying to quiet our breathing. That was when I saw it. A man, if it could be called that, suddenly appeared at the sound of the bell. He was the one ringing it. Tall with broad shoulders and a very thin body, it’s face straight out of a horror movie, grey with white paint it looked dead. It looked like a wraith come back to haunt those in its territory. He didn’t seem to notice us, rather he checked the area around the generator we had just finished. Grunting he rang his bell again and disappeared. we waited for several minutes before we finally came out of our hiding place. In that time only one generator had been done.  
“Not good, we need three more generators” Meg whispered as she silently crept through the forest in front of me. I nodded and looked around, noting the end of the forest and a generator just beyond. I pointed at it but she shook her head and pointed farther into the wreck yard where there were lights in the middle of some debris. They were flickering.  
“It’s been worked on” She observed quietly and moved toward it. I followed carefully watching for any signs of life.  
‘Strange… there are no animals here’ I thought to myself. A chill suddenly crept up my spine, as if we were being watched. I looked around again, finding nothing but darkness and fog around. We got to the debris pile walls and went straight to working on the generator, when half the lights were flickering on I felt it again. That spine chill. I turned and saw a shimmer in the air. It was brief but it looked like the outline of a man.  
‘Outline of a man…?’ I thought hesitantly. ‘Wait…’ I nearly said aloud as I turned back to it, it was closer this time. That was when it happened. The bell rang and the shimmer became the monster.  
“RUN!!!” I shouted at Meg as I raced in the opposite direction, running faster than I ever have before. It’s not fast enough, he’s closing in fast. Too fast. Frantically I looked around for an escape, anything to slow him down. There between two walls was my mercy, a pallet standing against one of them. Making a b-line for it I practically dove through as I pulled it down behind me, the man grunting painfully as he was hit with the pallet. I stopped and stared for a moment, locking eyes with him. He tilted his head curiously at me, his eyes so calm and questioning before standing back up and ringing his bell, disappearing into the fog. I didn't think twice before turning and running into the forest. I slowed to a walk after what seemed like forever and leaned against a tree, out of breath. I don't know what made me turn around, however when I did I was staring into the face of the monster. I screamed and jumped back turning to run once more but somehow too slow as I felt the sting of that skull looking weapon hitting my shoulder. I slammed hard into a tree but fear kept me moving despite the pain. I won't die here. I can't. I ran through the forest, diving between trees and over rocks until I ran right into a boy with scruffy, black hair wearing a green jacket and tan cargo pants.  
“Quickly, this way” he hissed at me and pulled me behind a wall. He draped his jacket over my shoulders as he pushed me along and into a building. It was a gas station. In the back of the building was another one of those generators which sounded like it had been started on.  
“My name is Jake” he said as he walked around the counter up front.  
“I'm Claudette…” I replied hesitantly.  
“Let me see that shoulder” he said grabbing a medical kit from behind the counter. I nodded and sat down with my back turned toward him, carefully pulling his jacket from around my shoulders and then pulling my shirt over my head, blushing at the exposure. I should have been wincing but I couldn't feel the pain I knew should be there. I could here him gasp and knew it must have been worse than it felt. I winced and bit my lip to keep from crying out once he started cleaning it with alcohol. When he was done he bandaged it and then turned slightly away so I could pull my shirt back on. He then nodded and motioned to the generator in the back room.  
“You know how to fix one of these?” He asked.  
“Yes. I used to help my da… I did one earlier and started on another when I came across that… Man” I replied looking behind me nervously.  
“Don't worry. If he comes I'll protect you. Let's get this generator done so we can get out of here” he said confidently. I nodded and grabbed a toolbox. It was simple. Red wire with red; White with white; seal this pipe with caulking. Replace some of the gears. This one seemed to take more to fix than the other ones had but we managed after a while to finally get it running. During this time we heard another generator come on in the distance. The garage door slowly opened and we smiled at each other so close to freedom I thought. That's when we heard it. The most horrifying of screams. Like a part of oneself is being taken. We both got up at the same time. I pulled my satchel over my head and tightened it before looking at Jake. He had grabbed his own bag and looked at me as if remembering something. He turned and pulled his jacket back off and handed it to me.  
“Here, you need this more than I do with that injury.” He said practically putting it on me himself. I didn't refuse him, only nodding in thanks.  
“Do you think that person is still alive?” I asked him quietly. He nodded.  
“You saw those hooks right?” He asked looking down at me.  
“I think so… I saw what looked like a hook near the first generator I did earlier.” I said in confusion.  
“It's likely that scream came from someone getting put on one of those. The killers… They put us on those things as some kind of sacrifice. When that thing appears it punishes us for failing to survive…” He whispered, shuddering. I shivered and looked around before looking back at you.  
“Can we save them…?” I asked, wide eyed with horror and hope.  
“Yes. It's risky and it doesn't guarantee they'll live through the trial though.” He sighed. “The killer we are up against this time is the Wraith. Or at least that's what we call him. He goes invisible and visible with the ringing of that bell he carries around so whenever you hear it run.” He informed me. I nodded, a tear rolling down my face.  
“We have to try to save that boy.” I said quietly. He nodded and pulled his pack on, reaching out with his hand. I grabbed it appreciatively and we ran toward the sound of the screaming. Through the forest and out into an open area with this weird scrappy looking shack. The screaming was coming from inside. We looked at each other fearfully before creeping inside, hand in hand. I only let go once we saw the basement. I stepped in front of him as he seemed to shrink away from that stairwell. Creeping carefully down the stairs I listened for movement but could only hear the moans coming from further down and the shaky footsteps of Jake behind me. As i turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs I gasped. Hanging from a tree of hooks was a boy in a button down, tie, and glasses; skin white as snow and sweaty. His shirt was soaked in blood from the wound in his shoulder where the hook was and his pants weren’t much better. We ran up to him, Jake helping me to pull him down. I knew he would scream when we pulled him down so I covered his mouth with my hand and some cloth. Even so it only muffled the sound slightly. We had to move fast. If Jake was right that man would be coming back shortly.  
“Thanks… My uh… My name is Dwight… He found me and that other girl after we finished a generator and… This happened.” he stammered as I cleaned and wrapped his wound. I helped him up after giving him some ibuprofen.  
“That'll take a bit to kick in but we don't have time to wait, we have to go before that invisible man finds us down here. Oh and um… My name is Claudette and this is Jake..” I said. He nodded and Jake helped me get him up the stairs before he shrugged us both off and bolted for the door. Suddenly I got a chill down my spine and screamed at Jake to run. I knew before it happened we had failed to save the boy. The invisible man appeared at the sounding of his bell and kicked Dwight back into the shack. He growled when he saw me run to Dwight and get in front of him.  
“There's another door go!” I screamed at Dwight. I would not fail. I had to save him. He turned around and ran Jake screaming for me but I froze. The Wraith tilted his head at me and looked behind me, shoving me against the wall and moving toward Jake. Apparently Jake has some experience with this Wraith however as he pulled a lighter and a firecracker out of his pack, lit the firecracker and threw it on the ground. It exploded in a bright flash of light and the Wraith yelped in surprise. Jake ran past him and pulled me up and out the other door. I'm definitely not as fast as Jake as I was hardly able to keep my legs under me as he pulled me along. When we finally stopped I was far beyond out of breath, heaving air back into my starved lunges. The final generator rang off and we silently cheered. Our joy quickly turned to horror when we heard the sound of Dwight being hooked again. His scream roaring through the air. It wasn't coming from the shack this time but we ran nonetheless. We came to a clearing near what looked like a gate and there lay a hook with Dwight hanging from it, strange spider like arms reaching to pierce him. His eyes were filled with terror. I ran as fast as I could but to no avail. When I reached the hook he lost the fight and the arms pierced him. I screamed in horror as his body was lifted into the air by the arms and faded into nothingness. Jake wrapped his arms around me as I cried for the poor boy. He said it was okay that he would be on the other side when we escaped but I couldn't hear him over the sound of Dwight's screams replaying in my head. Meg opened the exit gate and helped Jake usher me toward it. As we got into the gate I heard the bell and looked over my shoulder. We locked eyes once more but this time I wasn't afraid. I saw only sadness, pain, and what looked like guilt in those eyes. Perhaps he's a prisoner here too? I didn't know but I knew that I would never forget that day. Even if we escaped and I went home. I would never be the same.


	2. In Our Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claudette finds herself in a familiar forest running from an unfamiliar killer as she works to save Dwight from the monster who hunts them. With all the generators done she quickly learns how wicked the new monster can be and is all but reminded of their mortality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter delves a lot more into the psyche of Claudette as she recalls all that has happened since her first trial. Sorry it took so long, I’ve been writing an outline for the story as a whole to kinda sort out what all I want to happen. Once again please let me know what you think and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. <3

I am not brave. I never have been. I didn't even have the courage to help people in person in the outside world. I used the internet and blogs. I mostly only talked to people I knew I'd never meet in person. I can't do that here. To help people I have to be face to face. There is no internet here. These are real problems. I have to help people. I can't just let them die. But I am not brave.  
Despite that here I am pulling him off a hook, for the second time this trial, taking a hit so he can escape. Running for my life and for his. Dwight isn't the best at this trial thing. He's not fit enough to run for a long time, he's not good at hiding, quite honestly the only thing he's good at is bringing people together. When we're at the camp I help him. I teach him how to patch people up, Jake teaches him better ways to do generators. Meg helps him practice running. We're a team. Or at least we were. The more people who appear at the camp the less connected we become. At the beginning, when I showed up it was just the four of us. Apparently there were others once though no one knows what they were like. Now however there are more. When Ace showed up Meg became distant. Jake stopped hanging out as much when Feng Min appeared. They talk about stuff from the old world. Video games and computers mostly; I think he likes her… Nea is nice though. She helped me and Dwight learn how to better hide. Of course I was a natural at it but Dwight has a long way to go. Nea figured everyone needed darker clothes since it's always night here so we've been scavenging clothes from some of the trials when we saw them or had the time. Most of the clothes and supplies were found in the farmhouse, the estate, the asylum,and the institute. We cleaned them to avoid the risk of infection. Dwight always tries to stay close to me and Nea. It's good for him I think, he'd probably fall apart if he didn't have some friends in this mess. Unfortunately we have yet to find dark clothes that fit him. He needs them though. Badly.  
Recently we've encountered new killers too. The hag is easy to avoid but those claws do a lot of damage and those marks are magical. She can teleport to them. Some kind of matter distortion or something. The one floating lady though. She's dangerous. She can teleport too but she doesn't need marks to do so. And it's like she always knows when someone is injured or being patched up nearby. She makes us all nervous. Of course they all do. The Trapper as we call him places bear traps to try and catch us. He's fast and big making him a very imposing foe. The hillbilly runs around with his chainsaw revved looking for anyone so stupid as to be in his way. The Wraith… Is weird. I haven't really fallen to him. He seems to just ignore me… Like that first time whenever I've gotten in between him and the others he's just pushed me aside. There have been many trials when I've been the only one to escape. He'll just leave me be or if I'm taking too long he'll pick me up and carry me to a generator or the hatch. I'm not sure why though. Maybe he feels bad for me? I've asked so many times why I'm spared by him but he just looks at me sadly and rings that bell of his disappearing into the fog. I've started to think he might not be able to talk. The doctor scares me more than the rest though. He likes this. The rest you can feel some humanity. Some sadness. Well… Minus Hag… She's insane. But with him there is no sadness. No hesitation. His power is the most insane and annoying out of all. He uses electric shock to drive us mad with fear and pain. He laughs constantly. There's this sort of glee in his eyes about it. Like it's all just a game to him.  
But this trial isn't against him; or the trapper; or any of the usual killers… No. Tonight was a new killer. He wears a white mask and a bluish black jumpsuit. He carries a long knife. He doesn't seem to have any weird powers but then again I've only seen him a few times during this trial. He'll stare for a while before he attacks. Dwight has been the object of his obsession for most of the night, hunting him down with a passion only a monster could have. I'm scared for him. Dwight isn't good at dealing with stuff like this he starts to panic when the killer focuses on him too much. I lost sight of him but the masked monster is still chasing me. Which means he's lost sight of Dwight which is good. But now I have to lose him before he catches me.  
“Shit I need a pallet” I huff as I run. He's so fast despite the fact that he looks to only be walking. I see a pallet out of the corner of my eye and skid to a halt before bursting into a sprint in its direction. I can practically hear the monster's breathe as I slide through the pallet, slamming it down on him. He roars in fury but I'm not going to wait around for him to recover. I turn around and run for my life. I run past the shack and deeper into the woods, dodging trees and rocks as I race on. I slow my pace as I enter the light of a activated generator. I look up at the sky as I catch my breath. It’s beautiful here. In other circumstances I would dance through the forest singing with nature. I’ve always felt connected to nature. At home away from civilization in the fresh and free wild. No expectations or people. Only the song of nature.  
‘I have to focus’ I think, rubbing the mist from my eyes. I start walking again, heading toward the sound of a generator. Laurie, the most recent addition to our ragtag group of survivors, is working on it when I get there. She looks up at me with a frown.  
“He's not chasing you is he?” She asks.  
I shake my head “no, I lost him in the woods. Have you seen Dwight?”  
“Can't say I have. Help me finish this generator before Michael gets here.” She says. I nod but frown at that statement… She knows his name. I'll have to ask her about that later. I get down on my knees and start helping to repair the generator. So much work, never a break. A few months ago I was a sophomore in college, tutoring people and giving people medical advice. Now I'm fighting for my life and the lives of those around me. Never truly escaping… is there no escape?  
‘I want to go home’ I think as the generator comes on. I pull away to avoid getting my hand stuck or shocked. We're down to one generator. We're going to make it out. Laurie grabs my hand and pulls me away from the generator snapping me out of my thoughts. A shiver crawls up my spine. The monster is nearby. We hide behind a rock, both of us trying to keep quiet. I hear footsteps on the other side of the rock. A huff. The footsteps fade as he leaves. Laurie sighs in relief but I can't shake the chilling feeling that he is still here somewhere. She motions for me to follow her before creeping out from our hiding place. I follow hesitantly, looking around for the monster I feel is watching. We're at the estate tonight. This place is like a dream, trees everywhere, the few trials I’ve had time to I’ve wandered the forest collecting herbs and marveling at the beauty. Tonight is not such a night. The forest is dense with fog and the moon is dim. It's so hard to see anything at all I’d surely get lost if I strayed too far from the light of the generators. The final generator pops in the distance. Laurie smiles over her shoulder as she walks past another done generator, her eyes twinkling in the light with experience that only comes with age.  
‘She’s so beautiful. I only hope I’ll be as beautiful and experienced as her when I get her age. I smile back but our joy is quickly snuffed out. The monster appears in front of Laurie.  
“Look out!” I scream, too late. He grabs her by the throat and stabs her through the chest. She screams and tries to struggle but he shoves the knife deeper and twists. I drop to my knees as he pulls her close before throwing her to the ground gasping. I watch in horror as she breathes her last breath, her eyes becoming glassy… Empty. I scream again and turn to run but he picks me up and slams me against a tree. I feel his breath as he presses against me. I'm crying now.  
“Just do it already” I whimper, closing my eyes. Seconds turn to minutes but nothing happens. I open my eyes and look up. He's staring at me. There's something in those eyes that almost says ‘you're not suppose to want it’ but I know I'm dead either way. There's no point in resisting. He doesn't stab me though. Instead he drags me toward the shack. I try to pull away, to escape.  
‘Not there, anywhere but there’ I think as I struggle to break free of his grip. He tightens his grip and picks up his pace making the trip in far less time than it would have taken me. He picks me up and carries me down the stairs, kicking and screaming.  
“No! Let me go! Stop!” I shout as I try to break free. He throws me against the back wall, the air leaving my lunges. I struggle to draw air back into my lunges as he slowly approaches. He crouches in front of me and gently runs his knife down my cheek, my neck, my chest. I close my eyes again as I whimper. It's one thing to kill me. But this… He grabs my arm and cuts me from forearm to wrist. He does the same to the other arm.  
‘He's going to let me bleed out…’ I think as he gets up and walks up the stairs. I sigh in relief. But once again horror reaches my heart as he comes back down the stairs with a bounce in his step. His blade is glowing red with heat.  
“No… Please” I whisper, my vision blurring with blood loss. I barely feel it as he lifts my shirt. My head lolls to the side, the strength to stay upright leaving my body. Suddenly I feel a searing pain in my abdomen and a scream rips from my throat. I can hear footsteps pounding but I don't have the strength to tell them to run. I hear Dwight scream my name but it's like I'm hearing it from underwater. It's so distant but I know it's coming from the stairs. Jake shouts for Dwight to run, that's it's too late. My eyes fall shut as I lose consciousness.  
‘It'll be okay as long as they escape. I'll see them at the campfire’ I think as everything fades to black.  
I wake back at the campfire shouting for Dwight to run.  
“I'm back…” I look around but there's no one here. I look down at my arms and gasp. The cuts have scarred. Usually the wounds vanish as if it never happened. Not this time. Panicked I pull my shirt over my head and feel at my abdomen. I wince.  
‘It hurts.’ I think as I look down. Dread fills me when I see what he did. Burned into my skin, just below my breast is the letter M. Tears fill my eyes as I quickly pull my shirt back on.  
‘I can't let anyone see this…’ it's horrible. He marked me. It's bad enough that he didn't kill me quickly but HE MARKED ME. I curl up on my bedroll, unable to keep from sobbing. It feels like hours go by before I fall back into slumber.  
In my dreams I see wraith shaking his head at me, tears in his eyes. I see Dwight sobbing over me. I see that monster laughing as he watches. I see those arms usually reserved for those who die on hook lift me up. I hear it laughing at my suffering.  
I wake up screaming. I look around once more but still no one is here.  
“Where is everyone?” I say aloud as I get up. My strength seems to have returned but I'm still shaking from the memory of what happened. I search the camp for signs of life before branching farther out to search the surrounding woods. Hours pass of me shouting out the names of my fellow survivors as I roam. By the time I make it back to the camp I'm panicking.  
‘Where are they? Why am I the only one here? Are they all in trials?’ I start hyperventilating as I pace back and forth at the camp trying to figure out why I'm alone. Tears flood my vision and I drop to my knees sobbing.  
“Is this punishment…?” I sob. Through my sobbing I hear an all too familiar sound. The sound of that bell. After a moment of me trying to collect myself I look up. Seeing nothing I sigh.  
“I must be going crazy from this solitude” I say with a chuckle. I stand and turn around only to slam into the muscled form of the wraith. I jump back with a yelp and he raises his hands in a disarming manner as if saying ‘I come in peace’  
“What the hell…” I mumble as I stare up at the creature that has haunted my thoughts and dreams since my very first trial.


	3. Fateful Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After waking up alone at the camp Claudette searched for the others, only to find a terrifying surprise. The Wraith stands before her in the survivor camp with seemingly no intentions of hurting her. But what then is he here for?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is completely outside of any trials. There are some completely non-cannon to lore parts of this that are involving Claudettes family mostly since we know nothing of them.  
> Also just wanted to give a shout-out to ForTheLoveofEntity. We decided when he first started his "It Takes A Lot" fiction that our's would be tied together and this has finally caught up to where his starts so there is some repeating in here of what happens but all through Claudettes viewpoint. Finally and most importantly any time Wraith is "Talking" he is using sign language. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I'm sorry it took so long, the past month has been kinda hectic, mostly because my cat was pregnant and has now given birth, but hopefully things will settle down a bit more so I can focus on writing. <3

His eyes follow me as I walk around the campfire preparing a small meal for him and I. He doesn't seem to be able to speak. When he first appeared before I was terrified. He dropped his weapon next to the campfire and looked at me like a deer caught in headlights. He seemed afraid I'd run away. Which I did for a while before realizing. Where can I run? This is where we escape to. Him being here means my only escape would be a trial. But everyone else is gone so if I get pulled into a trial I'd be alone. There is no escape from this.

So here I am making food for one of the killers. Wraith as they call him is silent as he watches me move about the camp preparing our meal. Fried potatoes and broccoli. I prepare our plates and move toward him cautiously, ready to run at a moment's notice. His eyes, I cannot escape them. I set his plate in front of him and move to a stump across from him to sit down. 

“So. How did you get here?” I ask quietly  
He shrugs and points at me.   
“Okay. Umm… Why did you come here?” I question  
He tilts his head, giving me a sad look. I set my plate down and lean forward.  
“How about this. Why exactly do you and the other killers hunt us in the trials?” I inquire  
He leans down and grabs a stick, writing in the dirt his answer. It reads simply, we are trapped as well and punished if we fail or refuse. I swallow as he confirms the suspicion I’ve had since my first trial. This also confirms that he can at least understand me. Which leads to my next question.  
“Is that why you can’t talk?” I ask hesitantly.  
He flinches back for a moment but then leans down and writes yes. I nod. So it’s true that the entity, as we’ve begun calling our capture, punishes killers as much as he punishes us. With that being said what about the killers who seem to enjoy themselves… Are they getting punished. I think back to Myers. He didn’t seem bothered at all by killing. As if reading my thoughts Wraith carefully writes that some of them don’t need any encouragement to kill. I nod again thinking of the Hag and Doctor who always seem excited to be doing what they are. At least Doctor does. Hag just seems crazy.  
“Do you know sign language?” I ask suddenly. He looks at me in shock as if the thought had never occurred to him. He drops the stick then.  
“Yes.” He signs.  
“That’s great! So umm… what’s your name? If you don’t mind me asking.”  
“Philip Ojomo” He signs hesitantly. I smile.  
“My name is Claudette Morel” I reply.  
“That’s a beautiful name”  
“Thank you” I say, blushing a bit. Odd how in such a short time I’ve become so comfortable with this man that I would be able to blush.  
“How did you get here? You seem too intelligent to be in a nightmare like this” He questions. I nod solemnly and tell him my story. Of how prior to these past few months I was a college student studying botany. How I had taken many classes on first-aid that I never thought I’d need. How I was science girl to the web community, the answer to any medical or botany question never far from reach in my blogs. I tell him about my family, how my parents constantly encouraged my dreams. My two siblings who were always competing at sports, how even though they bullied me I was always the one who would patch them up when mom was at work. How my being here was simply bad luck of taking a walk in the wrong woods. Not a single word goes over his head. For hours we talk about our pasts and how we got here. 

His story of how he got here far more gruesome than mine but still very sad. He explained how he had traveled to the United States with a sense of hopefulness and excitement. A place of new beginnings they called it. He was offered a job shortly after his arrival much to his joy. Azarov was the name of his boss. He worked at Autohaven Wreckers as a mechanic and handled the crusher.  
“Back then the crusher was my favorite part.” He signs looking particularly sad. “Until I found out the truth.” He goes on explaining how one day he found a young boy in the back of one of the vehicles he was suppose to be crushing. How he freed the boy only for his boss to appear and kill the kid right in front of him and tell him to continue as if nothing had happened. He explains how he had flown into a rage and killed his boss that day. And how as he left he felt this sudden calmness as a voice whispered in his head. Fog surrounded him from seemingly nowhere and then he was here. His shoulders drop as he looks away from me as if from guilt.  
“I doubt I would have been as strong as you. You stood up against a monster. That doesn’t make you one.” I whisper softly. He turns back toward me smiling sadly.  
“If I weren’t a monster I wouldn’t have given in.” He signs.  
“What do you mean?”  
“I should have kept resisting. What we’ve been doing is wrong.”  
“If you had kept resisting it would have taken more from you right?” I ask. He nods grimly. “Then any human in their right mind would eventually give in. Torture of any form is not something a normal person can endure for very long. It doesn’t mean you are a monster. It means you’re human.” I say, nodding as if to confirm it. He tilts his head at me, his expression of pure shock. Clearly he’d never thought of it that way.

…  
A few hours later  
Hours have gone by and still no sign of any other survivors. About two hours ago when I started panicking again he suggested that he’d help me look for the others. When that bore no fruit he began trying to distract me which is why we’re sitting here playing cards. Trying to play cards would be a more accurate statement. I’ve spent the past thirty minutes trying to teach him how to play poker to no avail. He doesn’t have a poker face at all and keeps asking for a reminder as to what is a good hand.  
“If I have two kings a queen, a ten, and a jack what cards should I be looking for?” He signs questioningly. I giggle. “You aren’t supposed to tell me your hand” I remind him for the seventh time. “However since you have I’d say go for a straight flush if one of the kings is of the same suite as the queen ten and jack. If not go for a full house by getting another king and another of any of the other cards.” I explain. He nods thoughtfully.  
“Thank you” He says looking back at his cards. We play a few more rounds, he wins two of them which I congratulate him on, and I win the other three. We sit in silence for a few minutes before a thought crosses my mind.  
“Do killers have a camp too?” I ask. He looks at me in shock, though whether from the question or my calling them killers I do not know.  
“Yes we do though I wouldn’t call it a camp.” He signs in reply.  
“Did you come here from there?” I ask with a slightly fearful tone. He shakes his head.  
“I don’t know how I got here. I was leaving a trial and simply appeared here instead of at our camp as you call it”  
“I see… so then you either just appeared here by mistake or the entity sent you here?”  
“I suppose it’s most likely that the entity sent me here. Though if so I do not know why.”  
I nod. This brings me to a whole new question however that I hadn’t thought of in a while.  
“Have you seen other survivors prior to us?” I ask hesitantly. He pauses for a second before nodding.  
“Yes, I have.”  
“What happened to them?”  
“I do not know. They just stopped appearing.”  
“I thought as much… It’s highly likely that for some reason they stopped wanting to survive in which case if in fact the entity sent you here it was to make sure I wasn’t giving up... That might be why no one else is here. Perhaps this isn’t our normal camp but an alternate one for special occasions.” I reason. Looking around. If so it did a pretty good job so far at having me fooled. Everything looked exactly as our camp does. Which now that I see it with no one there, is pretty dull. I look back at Philip and smile softly. If the entity did send him here to help it’s quite an odd way. It would make more sense to send another survivor, but instead he sent one of the killers, the very first killer I ever saw. It doesn’t make sense.  
“Why would he send me for that? I would assume seeing one of the killers would make you feel even more hopeless” He signs questioningly. But he’s wrong. Seeing him and learning about him, learning that he isn’t really a monster and that not all of the killers want to kill, gave me a whole new perspective on this place. I always thought we were the only victims. But all this time the killers have been as much the victims here as we were. Every time they refused, every time they failed. They were punished just like us. Wait…  
“If you guys are punished for failing why did you always let me live?” I ask softly. He flinches and looks away, seemingly embarrassed.  
“The very first time I saw you, you were brave. Thinking only of the other survivors and not of yourself. You thought on your feet faster than I’ve seen anyone do. You aren’t the fastest, strongest, or bravest of the survivors and yet… with your intellect and compassion you rise higher than any other I’ve seen. You didn’t look at me like I was a monster. You looked at me with sadness and confusion. With curiosity. You looked at other survivors with compassion and warmth. You didn’t hesitate to put yourself at risk for them. You are too good for this place and these things.” He signs. I blush at this. No one has ever talked about me in that way.  
“That’s a very kind observation.” I reply awkwardly. He chuckles, or at least that’s what I assume based on his shoulders shaking. He gets up and gently pushes a lock of hair out of my face. I shiver and smile softly. He smiles back for a moment before frowning and looking at the ground. I look down in confusion but quickly see what has changed his mood. Fog is slowly covering the ground. He moves to grab his weapon and I to grab my satchel.  
“Be wary of the new killer. He is dangerous and very hostile. When he first appeared he tried to fight us too. Stay away from him at all costs.” He signs as he moves back toward me. So close I can hear his heartbeat. I breathe a sigh, resigning not to tell him that it’s too late for that. He smiles down at me, his eyes seemingly longing or sad, as if he wants to do something that he can’t. The fog surrounds us completely then, his heartbeat fading away. 

When I wake again I’m among other survivors at our camp. Dwight and Nea smile when they see me. Jake looks up from his conversation with Feng and smiles as well. He’s surprisingly the first to greet me though. Dwight slightly behind him as they both run to meet me at the edge of the fog.  
“You had us worried sick there Claudette.” Jake says, hugging me. I hold in a wince, remembering the last time we’d seen each other.  
“Where were you?” Dwight asks.  
“I don’t know. I was somewhere… else for a while. I was so scared but… I’m back now. I collected some herbs and supplies while I was gone though.” I say, still buried in Jake's hug. It’s like he’s afraid to let me go, as if I’ll disappear again if he does. I laugh a little at the thought and gently pull away from him. I look around after sharing the supplies I gathered to find Laurie sitting by herself. I walk up to her, frowning. She looks at me and tears fill her eyes.  
“I’m so sorry, Dwight told me what happened after he…” She trails off after getting a good look at me again.  
“It’s okay.” I say. “Just… I need you to tell me everything you know about that monster.”  
And so she does. The others have gone back to their perspective conversations so no one is paying attention to us. She explains how he was her brother but that never meant anything to him. He was a monster.

…  
A few hours later  
After she finished telling me her story I moved back over to where Dwight was sitting. He’s as usual super docile and shy. We talk for a bit before the fog moves in again and we all tense in anticipation of a trial. But a trial does not come. Instead a man appears, probably in his early twenties. He wakes with a jolt, having been laying on a log when he appeared. He looks around with a terrified look on his face, no doubt having just been through some horrible event.  
“Great… Another fucking worthless guy who’s going to disappear in the next few trials.” Nea says, clearly annoyed. Though this has happened quite a few times in the past few months it is still rude.  
“Shut up Nea!” I nearly shout, “Maybe if you gave him the chance to calm down you’d!” I sigh “You were the same way once… Don’t forget that.”  
She turns away after that, seemingly upset that I spoke out against her. I don’t regret it though. I turn to him.  
“W-Where am I..?” He asks shakily. I start to open my mouth but Nea answers first.  
“Well Ass Wipe. We call this hell.” She says, annoyed. I glare at her, giving her my best shut the hell up look. I turn back to him, smiling warmly.  
“Listen… uh…” I stop suddenly realizing I don’t know what to tell him. We don’t know where we are or why we are really here.  
“David…” He says, thinking I stopped because I didn’t know his name. With renewed courage I try again to answer.  
“Listen David, I… We aren’t sure where we are.” I start. Nea huffs which earns her another glare. “But.. We have jobs to do. I’m going to tell you carefully, and I want you to listen, and listen good. Because… This can mean life or death.” I say. He nods, looking at me with wide eyes. And so I spend the next hour or so explaining to him the trials and rules of them. He sounds british. He is built strong, his shoulders broad, his arms muscled. His hands looks like he’s been in and out of many fights. He can handle this. I hope. After I finish explaining he begins rubbing his eyes, likely tired.  
“Fuck.. how in the ‘ell did I end up in ‘ere.” He whispers, trying to clear the tears from his eyes. Dwight hesitantly walks up to him then, and touches his shoulder. He jolts fully upright in a panic, looking at Dwight warily. Dwight blushes a deep red, clearly embarrassed.  
“S-s..sorry.. I-i.. Didn’t mean to… uh.. Scare you..” He stutters out. To my surprise David rubs his shoulder soothingly and says.  
“ ‘s alright mate.. Whatcha’ need?”  
“It’s just… You look nice and… and the others… well… other than Claudette… Don’t really like me…” He stumbles. I give him a warm smile, trying to encourage him to continue. He stands a little taller, looking David in the eye now. “You look like you could use a friend… And I could too.” He says. I scoot closer, giving him my brightest, most friendly smile.  
“We all could use another friend.” I say. He smiles back then. We talk for a few hours giving him some more tips. Nea reluctantly lets him join our typical training session. After that I make food for everyone with Dwight’s help and we settle in for a few games of cards. While playing Blackjack I get a strange spine chill. I look up and frown.  
“Guys…” I trail off as everyone looks where I’m looking. Fog is rolling in. Time for another trial.


End file.
